Indian troops patrol Assam state as violence flares

Guwahati: Army troops patrolled border districts of India’s northeastern Assam state on Thursday following sporadic violence that has left more than a dozen dead and over 10,000 displaced.

Shops and businesses were closed in Golaghat town, where three people were killed after police opened fire to quell protests over attacks by tribespeople from neighboring Nagaland state, Assam’s Home Secretary G.D. Tripathy said.

Tripathy said the Naga tribespeople had killed nine Assamese villagers last week in a flare-up of a long-running dispute stemming from poorly defined state borders.

More than 10,000 people living on the Assam side of the border have fled their homes and are living in relief camps, he said.

Over the weekend, several groups in Assam blocked roads to prevent trucks carrying essential goods from entering Nagaland. As the road blockade continued for four days, authorities in Assam ordered police and paramilitary units to disperse the protesters and clear the roads.

The action triggered widespread protests with people coming out in large numbers with sticks and stones, Tripathy said. Police opened fire several times to disperse the mob on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing three protesters and injuring at least 14 others.

The deaths sparked public outrage, prompting authorities to call out the army and impose a curfew in Golaghat and nearby areas.